


Stand there and look into my eyes

by curiosa



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, in which mistletoe is a lethal weapon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 21:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiosa/pseuds/curiosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nyota folds her hands in front of her, shoves her lunch to the side and gives Leo her full attention. “The feelings you have for your best friend are entirely mutual.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stand there and look into my eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this years space wrapped challenge over on lj.

“Best Christmas movie, go!”

“Hands down, Elf.” Says Scotty, slamming his hands down on the table as if the debate's already over, making everyone's lunch jump two feet in the air as Leonard reaches out to steady his drink, one nudge away from being knocked over.

“Maybe too modern,” argues Jim, twisting his mouth as Scotty's eyes widen largely at him. The shock and disgust palpable from this distance.

“Miracle on 34th street.” Says Sulu and Jim nods, eyebrows rising in consideration as Scotty blows out a huff of air between his lips.

“But the newer version or the classic?”

“Newer,” argues Sulu. “It's Richard Attenborough as Santa.” he continues, as if that answers everything. Though Leonard has to admit that he did play the part pretty damn convincingly.

“Ladies opinions?”

Nyota puts down the sandwich she's eating, takes a moment for consideration and says, “love actually.” Rolling her eyes when everyone starts to groan back at her. She lifts one slim finger in reply,“It has Hugh Grant dancing and that one guy who's actually in love with Keira Knightly.”

“The carol singer moment, with the cards? When he admits he loves her?” Goes Gaila, practically melting into her chair, at which point Uhura and Gaila exchange knowing looks with each other, like guys just don't understand.

“No way.” Shouts Jim, “Overruled!” Scotty bangs on the table some more. “Spock, help me out here!”

Spock, who's done nothing but pick away at his salad since the debate began, looks up at Jim as if he hasn't even realised they were all having a discussion. Not that Leonard is surprised, after all, Spock doesn't even celebrate the holiday, so why he'd even have an opinion. 

“The muppets Christmas carol.”

“What... no?” Leonard finds himself shouting, almost chocking on his lunch as Jim barks out a round of laughter and Scotty slams the table once again, succeeding in upending Sulu's drink.

There's a rush for napkins then, Uhura trying to catch the trail of berry coloured juice before it starts dribbling off the table and onto her skirt.

“Come on, Bones.” Jim nudges him. “You've gotta like the muppets.” Which is the point where Leo begins to question his best friends sanity.

“It's a pig singing to a frog for god's sake. It cannot win the best Christmas movie debate.”

“It has heart.” Scotty adds.

“Actually, I don't think Kermit has a song with-”

“What, are you kidding me, Spock? No, no.” Spock opens his mouth to say something else and Leo just looks at him witheringly. “No!”

Jim leans into him then, partly in order to stop the trail of whatever Sulu had been drinking from landing on his trousers and partly in order to ask him his next question. His arm sidling up to rest against Leo's, warm and comfortable as he looks up at Leo with those big blue eyes full of laughter. “So go on then, your vote. What's the best Christmas movie?”

Leo crosses his arms and Jim shifts away again with the movement, skirting back in his chair in order to avoid the liquid. Unfortunately for him, Leo can't help the slight pang of disappointment that Jim's sudden leaving hits him with. Still, best Christmas movie, there's really only one answer, the film he'd watched every year with his Dad on Christmas Eve, up until well, a couple of years ago. “It's a wonderful life. It has to be. It's a classic.”

Jim seems to consider this for a moment, bottom lip caught between his teeth. It's kind of painful and a little sad how much Leo craves his approval.

Scotty tuts. “Are you kidding me? Black and white over a guy who thinks he's an actual elf in New York? Absolutely preposterous.”

“Scotty,” Nyota disapproves, probably not wanting the risk of any more spillages.

Still, he glares right back at her. “That's what it is I'll tell you.” 

They're just starting to put the decorations up around the cafeteria, reams of plastic greenery adorned with holly berries and tacky bright tinsel around any photo frame in sight. The old trophy cupboard in the hallway's already been adorned with enough shiny bits of plastic to cover up most of the actual awards, every spare inch of anything that can have something hung on or hang off of it, disappearing from sight. It's like a Christmas takeover, but then maybe Carol shouldn't have been put in charge of the decorations committee. She always does take to everything she's been assigned with a certain amount of extra enthusiasm.

“I think she's doing a good job,” Gaila goes, squealing as she spies what's hung up just underneath the entranceway to the cafeteria. “Mistletoe!”

“They've actually hung up mistletoe?” Asks Scotty, argument forgotten as he squirms around in his chair and then watches everyone who passes underneath it, like a lion on the prowl.

“I've got to try it.” Grins Gaila, as a couple from the year above them pause and start to make out underneath it. 

Leo raises one eyebrow, its going to cause congestion if every couple react to it that way. 

“Jim!” 

Gaila's reaching out a hand to him, grin practically infectious as she bounces out of her chair and Jim cracks his neck, looking not the slightest bit put out by her invitation. 

Scotty's watching, doing an impression of a goldfish, as the two of them make their way over, not even missing a beat as Jim skims his hands over Gaila's significant curves, one hand curled around her waist and the other lost in the mass of red curls she has hanging down over her shoulders today, as Leo feels his ribs significantly tighten.

There's a roar of applause and jeering, which Jim and Gaila only seem to respond to as Leonard decides that he's really gone off his dinner. He makes himself look away from the scene and instead tries to occupy himself with his friends reactions. Spock's not even paying attention, used to Jim's antics by now and Sulu's got a smirk across his face a mile wide as Uhura's turning to look at him, a soft, sad smile on her face as if to say: why do you put yourself through this?

Honestly, he wants to say back, I don't know the answer to that one either.

There's a whoop then from Scotty, as Gaila and Jim return to the table. Leaving the mistletoe open for the next unsuspecting victims.

“I almost forgot what a good kisser you were.” Gaila laughs and Leonard steadfastly refuses to look at her. Hair no doubt tousled and with that swollen lip look of just having had the life kissed out of you. It isn't her fault she and Jim dated a while back, that everything's amicable after the break up and they're still comfortable with each other one hundred percent. That Leo had had to listen to Jim talking about their relationship when they were dating and pretend he wasn't feeling anything at all like seething jealousy and a smidgen of loathing curl his gut.

Uhura's still trying to get his attention, rolling her eyes in what looks like silent, sightly sickening sympathy. 

“Bones, go stand under it.” Jim's back to nudging him again, throwing one arm over his shoulder and pulling him in closer towards him. 

Leo doesn't dare look at Uhura.

“I'm not going anywhere near that stuff.” He says. “You never know who's waiting ready to pounce on you.”

Jim's smile flies off his face.

Or sometimes you know exactly who's not.

-

“He's up to something.” Nyota says, the next day. Watching as Jim walks the long way around the cafeteria, past the lunch trays for the second time without picking one up. How's he ever supposed to grab his order or Leo's?

“Maybe he's forgotten he's supposed to be getting his lunch? And my sandwich?” Leo's still sat here on the pretence that he's grabbing a quick bite and studying for his algebra test, when in reality he hasn't even read the first word of the second unit, too busy watching whatever Jim is up to instead. He'll be fine, he's sure, it's not like he's actually failing any of his classes.

“He's got that look though.” Uhura continues. 

“The one where he's got a plan and it'll all end in trouble?”

“For us.” Nyota finishes, making room for Spock as he joins them at the table. He's brought her a salad and some juice, a dedicated boyfriend. As she turns to greet him with a kiss and Leonard watches as he pours a liberal amount of dressing into the salad bowl for her. She's got him well trained that one.

“It take it we're talking about Jim.” Spock says, like he hasn't missed a beat. “It's only logical that it will all end in trouble.

Leo's about to get up and go and get his own damn food, or question Jim's mental capacity, when Jim strikes forward. An impressive display of physical attributes as he deftly avoids smacking into a girl carrying a lunch tray full with what looks like nachos, how many can one girl eat? As well as the guy who spills his backpack on the floor right in front of him, arriving just in time to smoothly dip Carol Marcus into a kiss right beneath the mistletoe she's standing under. The cafeteria erupts again and Leo watches as Jim puts Carol back on her feet. Carol's looking less than pleased at having the whole cafeteria gawk at her as she tries to smooth her skirt down and brush her hair back neatly. She's never quite forgiven Jim for that time he caught her in her underwear, changing for gym, but she's not yet attacking him. Maybe because she doesn't want physical violence on her permanent record.

Leo sits back down and then stands back up again. 

“Leo,” Uhura starts, her tone all gentle, but he's already waving her off. He doesn't want this. He does not want pity. God, even Spock is looking at him with big round eyes, if that's even remotely possible, as if the guy actually has what can be considered emotion.

Leo's voice comes out gruff, “If he ever does come back with my food, tell him I got sick of waiting.” 

He picks up his books, grits his teeth at the truth of his words and heads out of the cafeteria under the pretence that he's actually going to study.

-

Friday nights, like always, end with Leo sprawled over Jim's couch picking at pizza as some dreadful movie Jim picked out plays quietly in the background, making the room and Jim flash white every time an explosion happens on screen, which is pretty much every other minute and the only thing that's keeping him awake through the so called action. Scotty's flung himself down on the floor, shovelling slices of pepperoni in his mouth as he lists all the technical faults the sci-fi film they're watching is currently displaying.

Jim's mom pokes her head in periodically, as if just to check that the room's still in one piece and no one's destroyed any of her expensive furniture. If Uhura, Carol or Spock aren't around she always assumes that somebody's going to break something. 

Scotty's just starting to babble about how gravity can't work that way and how can something set on fire that easy, when Jim jumps up to grab the last slice of pizza, throwing himself down in a slump right next to Leonard, so close in fact that he's practically on top of him. There's plenty of room on the other side of the couch and Leo shifts a little further next to the arm rest, huffing to get his point across as Jim pointedly doesn't move an inch in the other direction.

His voice is quieter than usual, lacking any of his casual bravado as he asks, “Have you been avoiding me?”

Leo licks tomato sauce off his thumb and deftly raises one eyebrow. Jim stares back at him stoically. In Leo's defence, the eyebrow thing usually gets to him.

“Of course not.” He scoffs, because he's here isn't he? Ignoring Jim would be like waking up every morning to find the sun's gone on vacation. He's not an easy guy to avoid and damn it all, Leo really wouldn't ever want to. If he's been busy most lunch times in order to not watch the Jim Kirk kisses any one (but him) in his vicinity show, well, who can blame him? 

“Bones?”

Apparently Jim Kirk can.

“You're sure?” His mouth's curled up on the one side, eyes serious for a change, unblinking.

In under a week Jim's taken to being some kind of mistletoe lurker, except in the way that more then half the school actually want to be caught under it by him. Surprising not only Carol now, but Sulu, who reacted pretty damn unremarkable about the whole thing, as if the whole school hadn't just watched Jim Kirk attack his face with his mouth for almost a minute. Gaila – multiple times – although that appeared to be something oddly mutual. And even Spock, who'd apparently given no reaction at all, much to the chagrin of Jim every time he retells Leo the whole sorry story.

Hell, even Scotty had had Jim plant one on him as he made his way in on Thursday, giving just as good as he got as people stomped and banged on the tables.

“Of course I'm sure.” Leo says because it's not his fault his best friend doesn't find him even remotely kissable. 

“Because Uhura said-”

Ah, Nyota. The reason you should never talk to girls about your feelings. “Said what?” He asks, tone sharpening as he only slightly feels his breathing start to quicken along with his heartbeat.

“That maybe there was a reason you weren't hanging out with us for lunch at the moment, Jim shrugs, “I feel like I've hardy even seen you since Monday.”

Leo sighs, watching as Jim fiddles with the bunched up denim of his jeans. All the amusement gone out of his eyes as he waits for Leo's answer.

It's really sad that he can't even be mad at him.

“Course not, Jim.” 

He shakes his head and Jim leans into him momentarily, breathing into the space on his neck. “Good, you want the last slice of pizza?”

They split it in half, Jim stretching to kick Scotty as he complains loudly that, “If you're done having a moment can we get back to watching the godawful movie?”

-

The next week sees various couples caught locking lips under the mistletoe including Spock and Uhura, Gaila and Sulu, Gaila and Chekov and Gaila and Jim again. It's become one of those things that people begin to take bets on, as Carol becomes some sort of minor celebrity for having the idea to put the stuff up in the first place. 

It's Wednesday when Gaila catches Leo. Hands grabbing him by the shoulders as she hauls him in a way that no girl with that slight a frame should really be able to haul anyone underneath anything. And before he knows it Gaila's lips are touching his, teeth catching at his bottom lip as he distantly hears people start to whoop and clap from somewhere behind him. 

She grins when she finally releases him, swiping her lips with her tongue as Leo hobbles back a step before he makes his way over to their table and sits down next to Jim, who's surprisingly quiet for once, and Scotty, who greets him with a slap on the back that knocks the wind right back out of him. 

“Damn!” Scotty laughs and Leo feels his face start to redden.

Gaila takes a seat across from them, pulling open a bag of chips like they haven't just shared each others saliva. “You know,” she goes, popping a chip into her mouth, “I think that kiss has gotta be up there in my top five.” She grins at him then, eyes cat like as Jim starts to fidget beside him.

“Gaila,” Jim warns as Leo ignores her, popping open his drink and taking a sip as Gaila continues, “Seriously, do you have a license for that mouth or- -?”

Jim scrapes his chair back then, walking over to the mistletoe where Uhura's currently standing, ponytail swinging behind her as she turns to greet him, unaware that their whole table is watching ready for the fallout. Nobody's even attempted to kiss Uhura except Spock, of course, god knows if you'd be likely to survive the aftermath. But Jim goes for it, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her full on the lips, a whole two to five seconds before she forces him off her and then smacks him right in the face.

“Goddamn,” Leonard says as Scotty winces and Gaila stares at the pair of them slack jawed and slightly uneasy.

Uhura leaves Jim nursing his jaw, walking over to their table where Scotty moves aside for her, sweeping aside his belongings so that there's plenty of room. “I always forget what a right hook you have.” he says completely in awe, glancing at her hand like its a weapon.

“What was that about?” she asks as Jim slumps his way over.

“What the hell, Uhura?”

“My thoughts exactly,” she snipes back and Jim seems to grab a hold of himself then, visibly shrinking.

He holds a placating hand out towards her and Nyota's chin ticks upwards, waiting for his excuse. “I shouldn't have done that.”

“Damn straight,” Scotty interrupts as Jim glares back at him, but luckily Nyota's now smiling, just slightly.

“Sorry.”

She waits half a beat. “Apology accepted,” before turning to him, “don't make the same mistake twice, Jim Kirk.”

He nods his head, smiles at her, gathers his belongings and leaves the cafeteria.

“Sorry,” Gaila goes, “that was sort of my fault.”

“Sort of,” Scotty scoffs, making a hacking sound with his throat as Nyota glances between them. 

“What?” Leonard asks, completely oblivious.

“I kissed Leo,” Gaila says, mouth twisted to the side as she shrugs her shoulders.

“Oh,” Nyota says, dragging out the 'o' sound as if it all makes sense to her now.

“What?” Leonard asks again and all three turn to look at him, three sets of eyes pinning him to his chair.

“Is he really this dense?” Scotty asks and Nyota rolls her eyes and nods as Gaila says, “Clearly.”

Nyota folds her hands in front of her, shoves her lunch to the side and gives Leo her full attention. “The feelings you have for your best friend are entirely mutual.”

Leo feels his ribs tighten, his breath stay thick in his throat as he breathes out one word, “What?”

“He wants in your pants.” Says Scotty as Gaila swats at him.

“He wants his mouth on yours.” Gaila continues, and Nyota turns to give them both the look long enough for the pair of them to shut up.

“He likes you, Leonard. Like really likes you.”

“Right,” Leonard replies, because that's about the only word his brain can come up with. Filled with crippling self doubt even as his three friends all nod back at him slowly. Jim likes him. Jim really likes him?

“God, you should have heard them the other night.” Scotty's muttering, “All over each other as we were trying to watch a film. I swear at one point they were cuddling, right at the good point too, you know the explosions?”

Leonard lets his voice trail away into the background as a basic plan starts to form, his head feeling giddy with the idea as Nyota smiles back at him entirely encouraging.

-

Leo's never felt his heart beat this hard in his chest before. He's not seen Jim since the day before and what's now come to be known as the never-touch-Nyota-Uhura-without-her-express-permission incident. Which, Leonard thinks, is not only a stupidly long title, but something that surely should be known around the entire universe anyway. You don't mess with Uhura. You just don't.

He'd text Jim last night, asking him to meet him in the cafeteria, which okay, would probably have happened anyway, but Leonard still really needed to make sure.

Jim's walking towards him now, eyes drifting about until he catches sight of Leonard waiting just inside the door, a soft smile highlighting his face as he lifts one hand in recognition.

Leonard feels his hands shaking. Jim's right underneath the door and it's now or never as Leonard pushes out a breath, forcing himself to take one step forward until he's face to face in front of Jim, gripping him by the shoulders as Jim's eyes just start to widen in question, sliding closed in the next heart beat as Leonard starts to kiss him.

Considering this was a complete surprise, Jim soon understands what he's supposed to be doing and gets with the picture. Wrapping one hand around Leo's waist in order to pull him in closer, hips pushing in to Leo's as he softly grunts and Leo thinks more, Jim's other hand reaching up to tangle in the soft hair at the back of Leo's neck. The back of Leo's brain is dazedly telling him that Jim is kissing him right now, Jim Kirk, his best friend and constant crush of what seems like forever, is currently moving his mouth over his. His skin starts to tingle all over as Jim hooks his hand into Leo's shirt, and Leo's brain completely turns to mush, the constant warm weight of Jim against him as Jim's tongue explores every inch of his mouth.

When they eventually do break apart it's to the hushed silence of the whole cafeteria staring at them slack jawed. Right before a chair scrapes back and someone starts slow clapping as Scotty shouts out, “Finally!” and regular noise starts to filter right back in, people turning away as they continue on with their lunches and get back to their conversations.

“Wow, so...” Jim starts, fingers still hooked around Leo's clothing.

“You know I've been wanting to do that since,” Leo huffs out a laugh, “since maybe forever.” He curls a hand under Jim's jaw as Jim grins right back at him, eyes glittering, back with their usual spark.

“You know, I reckon Gaila was right.”

Leonard raises one eyebrow. “She was? About what?”

“Best Christmas kiss,” Jim whispers.

Leonard grins at him, his hands sliding down to curl possessively over Jim’s hips. “Personally I think you might need a bit more practice.”

“Ugh, get a room!” Scotty shouts as Leonard waves a hand roughly in his friends direction, forgetting everything as Jim leans in for another kiss.


End file.
